A Little Ritual
by h.psane
Summary: A memory helps a grieving Greg Universe.


A little Ritual

These characters do not belong to me. They belong to Rebecca Sugar, and have thoroughly ruined my life. I need more Greg/Rose.

Inspired by a picture on google of Greg with Rose tattooed on his back.

Stevens birthday was a confusing day for those who loved him. On the day he had been brought into this world, his mother had perished. It had torn apart those close to her and Greg Universe was one of those unfortunate souls. For weeks after the love of his life dissipated into a bright flash of light leaving behind his son Greg had put his grief away. He had a son to take care of for Rose's sake. Something like this was something he could not trust the gems to do. A human baby needed human parents...parent. Even a half human one. Eventually he knew he had to turn Steven over to the gems. The powers his son may posses were something he had no idea how to nurture and explain.

He kept himself busy, and the weeks turned into months. Still he had not given over to his grief. Steven had no one else in the world at that moment. The gems were too lost in their own sorrow to really be there for the child, and his own parents were not in the picture anymore. So there he was, alone, without Rose, and taking care of a child. The carwash now belonged to him so he was always working. Babies were exspensive after all.

Once or twice he found himself on the verge of tears. His throat felt so tight it might close up on him forever. A heart rate that belonged more to a rabbit than a man beat in his chest. It felt like it was tearing in two. He would grab onto the nearest wall or ledge and hold on till he caught his breath. Swallowing the pain again and again. Greg was not going to fall apart. He had to be strong. For Steven. For Rose.

It was Steven's first birthday when things became too much. He had had a little party, and the Gems had been invited. Vidalia, and her son had come. Only Amethyst and Garnet showed to give presents before they left. Still, it was a nice birthday party. The cake was small, but there were plenty of toys. Greg had saved for months to give him this party. As Steven looked about the room, his eyes taking in everything around him with a painfully familiar curiosity, his father noticed his hands start to shake. Though the cake was smeared into his hair and face, Greg could see Rose's face in his. Tears he could not stop welled in his eyes.

Thankfully Vidalia saw them and intervened. Taking the plates from his hands she told him to take a walk and get some fresh air. She would clean up. And watch the kids. At first he refused. Since Rose had left this world he had never left Steven alone. Not once. He came ot work with him, and slept beside him in the small floor crib in the van at night.

With the insistance of a mother to a six year old, she hushed him and chased him from the backroom of the car wash.

So, for the first time in a year Greg found himself without his son. The shake was still in his hands. Even tucking them into his pockets did nothing to help. Walking along the sidewalk he kept his head down. Those tears were still there, on the edge of his eyes. He had to do something to distract himself. Had he not been rushed off so soon he might have grabbed his guitar. Music always soothed the soul.

A small smile pulled at his mouth despite how he was feeling. Sometimes at night he would strum on his old guitar and sing to Steven. The songs were many and varied. Some he made up, others he knew from the radio. If he felt his heart could manage it he sang Steven the songs he and Rose had sung together over the years. The baby always seemed to love music. Good thing to know some of himself was in there with all that gem stuff.

The smile faded, and he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. What was left really. Now he was angry at himself a bit. He was out here on his son's birthday. His only son. This was a truth Greg knew for certain. There was no one else for him but Rose. Steven was the one and only child for him. How pathetic, to be missing a birthday because he was too weak to control his feelings.

As he walked he passed the only tattoo shop in town. Greg stopped at it's window. This brought back a very happy, but painful memory.

 _It had been a year since he and Rose had started to see eachother. He had started working at the Car wash and had saved up some money. One night he went with Vidalia to the shop. She was getting the tattoo on her hip of Marty's name covered. Rose and the gems were on a mission so he was free all night. As he sat chatting with the artist and Vidalia he began to think about what he would get as a tattoo._

 _Unable to stop himself he asked how much a pink rose on his back would cost him. When the artist gave him a fair price Greg got on the table after Vidalia. Head resting on his arms, sometimes to hide his face when the tattoo gun brought tears to his eyes, mostly to talk. The artist had asked why the Rose and Greg could not help but talk everyone in the parlors ears off about his great love. It had not taken as long as he thought it would. Though his back hurt a bit from where the needles had driven the ink into his skin he felt good about it. He and Vidalia spent the rest of the night in his van chilling._

 _Rose did not see the tattoo for a few weeks. He had wanted to tell her about it when it had finished peeling and was looking decent. After it had finally began to look better he took off to the beach._

 _He found her on the beach with the other gems. They were sitting in the sand and talking softly. Garnet looked up first as he approached. Seeing them there he broke out into a run. Rose grinned as he skidded to a stop in front of them. Catching his breath he grinned back._

" _Rose." he was breathless, and as usual it was not the running that did it to him._

" _Greg! I was hoping to see you tonight." A flirtatious tone took over her voice._

 _A shiver ran down his spine. They had recently started to fool around, Rose finding the activity as fascinating and enjoyable as she found most other human activities. Greg was not complaining. Blush spreading across his face he stuttered._

" _I am so free tonight. But I wanted to show you something." With that he took off his shirt, getting a startled yelp from Pearl and a hoot from Amethyst. "What do you think?"_

 _There was silence behind him, and he started to feel silly. What do gems know of tattoos? How could he get something like this done to show an alien woman he loved her? On what planet did that make sense? His shirt in his hand got scrunched as he stared at the beach ahead of him. About to put it back on, and make a joke a warm familiar hand touched the tattoo._

" _This is on your skin." Rose's voice was hushed._

" _Forever." He replied, a warmth rushing through his body from her touch._

" _A pink rose." Fingers traced the lines on his back._

" _A pink rose under my skin. Till I die." he looked over his shoulder finally. "Just like you."_

 _When their eyes met, he saw the tears in her eyes. For a moment he thought maybe that had been too much, but the smile on her face betrayed her happiness._

 _That night, as they lay in a bed made of clouds, Rose ran her fingers over the design again and again. For years after that, when they had sex she would trace the rose on his back._

It had been a year since anyone had even seen that tattoo. Thinking of how Rose loved it, he made a decision.

He opened the door to the parlor, and got himself an open chair in the back. Another pink rose found it's way on his back, right next to the last one. As he waited for the artist to finish, he regaled this new man about the love of his life.

Finishing, and paying he headed back to the car wash. Vidalia had made good on her word. Steven was resting in his crib, and the mess had been put away well enough. They said goodnight and she headed home. She was tired after all. Carrying a child made any woman tired. He had seen it even exhaust a giant alien woman personally.

Getting ready for bed himself he washed up in the small restroom near the office where Steven slept. Curious he looked at the tattoo. Two pink roses now rested on his back. Before he knew it the tears were streaming down his face, a sob wrenching itself from his mouth. He collapsed to his knees, hands resting on the cold concrete. He was breaking in two. Try as he might to swallow the pain, he found that over the year he had filled up with it and now there was nowhere for it to go. Everything he had felt poured from him. Every tear he had held back came free. There in the bathroom of the car wash, Greg Universe finally mourned his love.

A few hours later he stumbled into the office and slept in the chair. Steven rested quietly next to him. When he woke he found he had never felt better, though the sadness still sat there on his heart. He doubted it would go away. Washing up again, he stared at himself in the mirror. Making two decisions he decided that Steven would always have the best birthday he could provide for him, and that when Steven went to bed or went with the gems he would go back and get another pink rose. On for every year she was gone.

After all, Steven's birthday was a joy and a sadness. No need to not celebrate both.


End file.
